Kevin Durant discusses the Marcus Smart situation

After the Knicks game Sunday, Kevin Durant was asked about Marcus Smart and how players should interact with courtside fans. Here’s what he said:

“I’ve played in that place my one year at Texas and those fans say some crazy stuff to you. But he’s a 20-year-old kid and you’ve got to think heat of the moment, it’s easy for you guys to judge him, because you’ve never been in that situation.

“But I’m sure he’s regretting he made a mistake. Easy to learn from it. And you should show the guy some grace. He’s a good kid, and it definitely looks like he’s going to learn from it. But at the same time, it was heat of the moment and I’m not sure I would’ve reacted any different. It is what it is, and hopefully everybody can move past it and enjoy how he plays the game because he’s a big game player.”

Durant was then asked if fans can cross the line:

“Yeah, most definitely. I just put it like this: If you wouldn’t say that when we were walking down the street, then you should keep that to yourself. But it’s the heat of the moment for those guys too, watching their teams. But we’re all humans and words do hurt, and some things should be kept to yourself. But that’s the name of the game. One of those things you can’t worry about and keep playing. Like I said, Marcus Smart is a good kid and we should all love on him and show him some grace and move past it.”